1. Updating the 2004 CPI Manual
May 10, 2019
Meeting of the Ottawa Group
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Brian Graf
Senior Economist, Real Sector Division

2. Background 2014 UNECE-ILO CPI Group of Experts Meeting
2014 IWGPS endorsement for updating the CPI manual
Multiple layers of review
Substantial comments from compilers
24 countries
IWGPS member agencies
Two publications
Consumer Price Index Manual: Concepts and Practices (Manual)
Consumer Price Index: Theory

3. Progress to date Chapter outlines Draft chapters Main review
International consultation of CPI compilers and users.

4. Progress to date Incorporate comments from compilers and users
IWGPS agency review
Incorporate comments from IWGPS
Meeting of IWGPS – October 2018

5. Progress to date Revision of chapters to include IWGPS comments
Editing for consistency (ongoing)
Outside review

6. Next Steps Update chapters reflecting comments from outside review
Formal consultation of countries
Final approval from IWGPS
Submission of the final manual for endorsement by the UNSC

7. Proposed timeline (Manual)
Formal country consultation – July 1 – September 15, 2019 Final draft available – October 1, 2019 Formal editing (IMF) – October 1, 2019 – February 29, 2020 White cover version submitted to UNSC – February 2020 Endorsement by UNSC – March 2020

8. Manual Reflect established best practice as of now
Challenge – dynamic nature of compilation methods
Guidance Notes to be issued as needed to ensure Manual remains current
Recognize that methods continue to evolve
Research drives development of new best practices
Research evolves into best practice
Guidance Notes issued to update relevant chapter in the Manual

9. Manual Research Agenda
Identifies topics for further research and discussion
Foster the development of new methodologies
Guide the agendas for upcoming meetings of UNECE-ILO CPI Group of Experts and Ottawa Group

10. Proposed timeline (Theory)
Draft chapters available – August 31, 2019 Review by main reviewers – September 30, 2019 Incorporate comments from reviewers – October 31, 2019 Review by IWGPS – December 31, 2019 Incorporate comments from IWGPS – January 31, 2020 IWGPS discussion on final version – February 29, 2020 Formal editing – May 31, 2020 Theory publication will not be endorsed by the UNSC

11. Key Changes/Updates Provide more practical advice wherever possible
Streamline – reduce unnecessary repetition
Increased harmonization with national accounts concepts
Two new chapters
Scanner data
Updating weighs and linking index series
Rewrites
Sampling
Focus on multi-stage sampling process in practice
Practical realities faced by compilers and availability of sampling frames
Missing prices and quality adjustment
More detailed examples and clearer guidance

12. Key Changes/Updates Update and develop new detailed examples
Missing prices, quality adjustment
Identify and summarize steps needed to develop and maintain a CPI
Streamline and combine chapters on concepts, uses, and classifications
Augment and expand use of national accounts data and alternative data sources to develop weights

13. Key Changes/Updates
Treatment of internet purchases and collection of on-line prices
Data editing
Innovations in the collection of prices
Web-scraping
Hand-held computers/tablets
Theory and concepts
Treatment of scanner data in the calculation of elementary aggregates
Quality adjustment methods to deal with scanner data
Comments

14. Thank you! Comments welcome